Dust (Children of the Republic Book 1)

by Jason Hutt

  Nick sure hoped so. Because with each careful step, desperately trying to avoid stepping on the remains of the dead, Nick was becoming more convinced that there was no way through this. It took a few moments to make their way across the hall, but they were rewarded with an unlocked door. As the door slid open, the light inside came on.

  The room was small and gray, lined with plastic shelving and stocked with cleaning supplies, tools, and spare parts. Most importantly, a small sled, designed for carting a maintenance tech, some tools, and spare parts, sat in the middle of the closet. Max grinned. He eagerly limped over and pressed his thumb to the ignition pad. The sled started to hover about a foot above the floor.

  “Thank God for small miracles,” Nick said.

  “You ever drive one of these before?” Max asked.

  Nick shook his head, keeping his mouth shut guaranteed that nothing else would come rocketing out of his stomach. Excess saliva pooled in his mouth, he swallowed it down and his stomach cramped.

  “Well, no time like the present to learn how,” Max said.

  “I can’t think of a better time for a learning opportunity.”

  Max laughed. “Next time we’re in an unforeseeable emergency situation, I’ll make sure we practice everything we need to do beforehand.”

  Nick gave Max a weak smile. His stomach seemed to settle slightly from that brief release of tension. He grabbed onto the handle bars at the front of the sled and hesitated as he tried to figure out what to do.

  “You control it by standing on the pressure plate,” Max said, “Just lean in the direction you want it to go. Pretty simple.”

  “Right,” Nick said.

  “Have you seen the simpletons they hire as maintenance techs these days? If they can figure it out, so can you. Hop on.”

  Max gingerly lifted his leg over the toolbox that covered the back half of the sled and then plopped himself down. The sled bobbed slightly with the sudden added weight. Nick stood there for another moment, figuring out where all the controls were.

  “Let’s get going before one of those things finds us,” Max said.

  Nick nodded. Color had returned to his cheeks and his breathing had steadied. If he was going to die today, it would not be because he was afraid to drive this little yellow and black maintenance sled. Nick grasped the front handlebar and found his balance point. He leaned forward tentatively and the cart slowly moved forward. The grisly overcoat of blood and body parts on the floor seemed to have no impact on the sled’s ability to move about. Immediately after he pulled the cart out of the closet, he brought them to a stop.

  “Where am I going anyway?” Nick asked.

  Max consulted his wrist computer. “Looks like we’re a kilometer and a half away from the lift to our hangar bay.”

  Nick nodded and started to turn to the right. He overturned and then overcorrected, before finally figuring out how to get the cart moving in a straight line.

  “Few more turns like that and I’m going to lose my lunch all over the back of this thing,” Max said.

  “Until this sector gets cleaned up, I don’t think anyone will notice if you do,” Nick said.

  They were moving along smoothly. It would take about six minutes for them to reach the lift. As they moved along, the number of dead and dismembered seemed to drop and the number of dead creatures seemed to rise. The sound of fighting grew louder with each passing moment. If they came upon one of these things again, they were ill equipped for a fight. Nick brought the sled to a stop.

  “Something wrong?” Max asked.

  “What’s our plan if we have to go through these things to get to the lift?” Nick asked.

  Max chewed on the inside of his lip as he thought for a moment.

  “You still got that stun gun?”

  “Yes.” Nick nodded, digging the small gray ellipsoid out of his pocket.

  “Give it to me,” Max said, “You steer, I’ll shoot. If we see one of those things, give it as wide a berth as you can. Hopefully this will knock them out long enough for us to get clear.”

  “And if there’s more than one?” Nick asked.

  Max sighed. “How the hell should I know? I’m a damn freighter pilot, not some secret commando in disguise. You got any bright ideas?”

  Nick shrugged. “Is there anything in there?” He asked, pointing to the tool chest Max was sitting on.

  Max opened it up and rummaged around, finally pulling out a large pipe wrench. “Well, this’ll slow someone down,” he said handing it to Nick.

  Nick was surprised by the weight of the wrench and almost dropped it, clanging it off the sled, “If I can manage to pick it up and swing it.”

  “We’ll have to make sure you hit the weights once we get back to the ship. Look, this sled probably weighs about 500 pounds plus another 400 between the two of us. All that weight moving at about fifteen kilometers an hour ought to be enough to knock one or two of them out of the way. Aim for the smallest one you see and I’ll shoot as many of these darts as I can to help clear the path.”

  Nick nodded, silently mulling over any other options. He had no better ideas; his brain was just filled with an incessant whirring sound. It took Nick a moment to realize the sound wasn’t in his head. As they waited, the sound grew louder.

  “What is that?” Nick asked.

  Max shrugged and was about to tell the kid to keep moving when a silver-gray mass became visible several hundred yards behind them. Within seconds, it became clear that it wasn’t one solid mass, but rather the same group of small, gray robots they saw assembling in the surveillance video.

  “More well wishes from Sinclair,” Max said.

  Nick decided not to wait any longer and got the sled moving forward again at its plodding pace. Nick tried to steal some quick glances back; the gray robots continued to gain on them. Every so often, a couple would break off from the pack and head toward the sides of the corridor.

  “Nick, if you can move this crate any faster, please do so,” Max said.

  “What are they?” Nick asked, leaning as far forward as he could.

  “Pilot drones,” Max said.

  “What?”

  “Very basic robot pilots,” Max said, “They’re used to ferry ships on very simple routes.”

  “So?” Nick asked.

  “They’re Sinclair’s design. He’s trying to steal some ships,” Max responded.

  “Great,” said Nick.

  The fighting they had heard in front of them finally came into view. Nick’s mind filled with dread as it took in the scenes of the skirmish. A crowd of the black-winged vulture-human creatures was pushing steadily forward. Nick watched as they broke through a firing line of security officers and the two sides started tearing each other to shreds. Just beyond the combatants, Nick saw a crowd of people fleeing in terror.

  Some in the crowd tried to assist the security officers in any way they could, throwing whatever they could find, firing off weapons scavenged from the dead, and some launching themselves into hand-to-hand combat. Those fools were quickly torn apart by the savage beasts.

  Nick watched as the creatures raised their elongated, silver firearms and let loose streams of blue-tinted energy. Their aim was indiscriminate; holes were bored through officers, store fronts, signs, and civilians, leaving nothing but death and destruction in their wake. The security officers were fighting bravely, but with their line broken they stood little chance against the creatures.

  Nick was relieved to see that the main throng of combatants was about ten meters beyond the door to the lift that would take them back to the Hannah.

  “Do you see this?” Nick shouted.

  Max said, “Get us in that elevator, kid, and beers are on me for the week.”

  Nick couldn’t help but smile. He leaned forward pushing the sled as fast as it would go. The humming servos of the pilot drones had grown incredibly loud; there must have been at least a hundred of the slender gray robots. To Nick’s dismay, he wasn’t the only one who heard
the din. Several creatures turned and looked back toward them. Nick and Max were spotted. The creatures raised their rifles.

  “Hold on,” Nick said, though he wasn’t sure holding on would do either of them any good. It was all he could think of to say. The creatures opened fire and streaks of blue energy filled the corridor around them. One bolt struck a trailing drone and a shower of sparks erupted from its chassis as a hole was burned through it.

  Nick watched as the creatures tried to aim their rifles at the sled. Their manual dexterity was lacking and none of them could accurately lead a target with a shot. They relied on sheer volume of fire to overwhelm their target. Suddenly, a shot burned into the corridor wall just to the left of Nick’s head, and he no longer felt so confident about their chances.

  All it takes is one lucky shot, Nick thought. He tried to slip the sled from side-to-side, but it was comically slow in doing so.

  “I don’t think this is helping,” Max said.

  “How about you start shooting instead of criticizing my driving,” Nick said.

  “Easier said than done, speedy,” Max retorted. He couldn’t twist himself around to get a decent shot off. Nick finally quit bobbing back and forth and headed straight for the opening of the freight lift. The lift door yawned open, a tantalizing ten meters ahead of them.

  Suddenly, the creature closest to them leapt, covering the roughly four meters between it and the sled in a single bound. It landed on the front edge of the sled with its beak inches from Nick’s nose. Nick let out a yelp as the weight of the creature pitched the sled forward and drove it into the floor. The creature grabbed at Nick with both arms in a panicked flail as the sled handlebar pushed the creature into the floor.

  Nick screamed in pain as the creature’s talons pierced the skin of his torso. He heard a terrible, wet squelching sound as the handlebar of the sled buried itself in the creature’s chest and continued to push farther into the nightmarish thing as it skidded to a halt.

  Nick tried to immediately climb out from under the cart; afraid the weight of it would snap the handlebar and send it crashing down on top of him. He wiggled free, his midsection now covered in the blood of the creature, but his pant leg snagged on something. He turned to see what he was caught on and heard the clang of another one of the creatures as it landed in front of him. He looked up to see it flare its wings and unleash its devilish screech.

  Max, thrown forward over both Nick and the creature when the cart tipped, was ready with the stun gun. He was propped against the wall of the lift, grimacing in pain, as he fired off three of the tiny darts from the stun gun. Before the creature even finished its wail, it slumped to the ground.

  Nick yanked on his pant leg with all his strength and it ripped free. He crawled forward as fast as he could, getting into the lift just as two pilot drones rushed in. Max selected the hangar on his wrist computer and the doors began to close at a painstakingly slow pace. Nick still lay on the floor panting, blood welling up on the sides of his torso, as he watched the doors slowly slide shut.

  When the doors sealed and the lift began moving, Nick laid his head on the floor and exhaled slowly in relief. He tried to sit up, but it hurt too much to move. Max limped over to him and held out a hand.

  “Well done, kid, but we’re not out of this yet,” Max said as he nodded towards the two drones they shared the lift with. The drones paid them no attention; they hovered in complete silence.

  “What are you thinking?” Nick asked.

  “They’ll make a break for the ship, but Reggie won’t let them leave without us. If they do intend to take the ship, we can at least find out where they want to take us before we turn them into spare parts.”

  “Whatever you say, boss,” Nick said with a wince.

  The lift came to a stop and the doors opened. Max and Nick tentatively poked their heads out far enough to get a look around the hangar. The pilot drones floated past them and did a quick scan of the hangar looking for available ships. Within seconds, one of the two took off towards the Hannah while the other set off towards a ship at the other end of the bay.

  Nick turned his attention away from the drones and noticed that Max was pointing towards the far end of the hangar. Nick made out three dark shapes; a few of the creatures had been on the loose in here. Max gestured and took off at a fast hobble, slightly doubled-over in pain. They passed a row of empty, gray shipping containers and Max paused. There on the floor lay the dead body of Phyllis. She had been cut to pieces by the talons of one of those godforsaken creatures.

  “Shit,” Max said, “I’ve known her for more than ten years. She was a good, honest, hard working woman.”

  “I’m sorry, Max,” Nick said, “Come on. We’ve got to get moving.”

  Nick gestured at him impatiently and stabbed his finger toward the creatures. One of them had turned towards them and was awkwardly lumbering in their direction. Nick once again helped Max support his weight and they moved as fast as they could towards the ship. Nick could hear the creature screech when they finally reached the ramp. Reggie stood at the top of the ramp, ready to close it as soon as everyone boarded.

  “I am relieved to see you, sir,” Reggie said.

  “You have no idea how glad I am to hear your voice, Reggie,” Max said as he knelt on the floor, “Do me a favor and go get the med kit. And where’s that drone?”

  “Right away, sir. The drone is in the cockpit. I have currently locked it out of all the ship’s systems; however, it is running a strong decryption algorithm and will probably have access within the next ten to fifteen minutes.”

  “Computer,” Max called out, “Run a bio scan on the ship.”

  “Scan reports three biological organisms present on the ship,” the computer responded.

  “Crap,” Nick said.

  Max frowned.

  “What is the location of the third organism?” Max asked.

  “Cargo hold.”

  “Well, at least we found out now before it had a chance to kill us in our sleep,” Max said, “Reggie, get me that kit and bring me my atomizer!”

  Max’s voice echoed off the corridor walls. Reggie’s affirmative response returned a moment later.

  “Atomizer?” Nick said, “I didn’t think anyone still used those.”

  Max smirked at him. “I used to run a route through pirate-controlled space. It came in handy on one or two occasions. Now it just gathers dust in my storage locker. It’ll get the job done, though.”

  “We should just vent the hold to space,” Nick said.

  “I’m with you on that, but let’s make sure we’re bagging one of the bad guys, first.”

  Reggie returned and handed Max a silver bag and a small pistol. The bag opened at Max’s touch and he rummaged through it for a minute. He pulled out a vial of black pills, took two, and handed the vial to Nick. Nick glanced at the label, emblazoned with the Conglomerate logo, before pouring out two more pills and taking them.

  “How long do these things usually take to work?” Nick asked.

  “They’ll get you patched up in about an hour, though they’ve got a helluva kick.”

  “Wonders of modern medicine,” Nick said, struggling to get back to his feet.

  Max had the gun reassembled. “Reggie, you lead the way. Nick, stay behind me. Let’s find this son of a bitch and get him off my ship.”

  The three of them trudged toward the aft of the ship. Reggie’s feet and Nick’s metal boots clanged heavily off the deck. They sure weren’t going to sneak up on anyone, Nick thought. The hatch to the cargo hold slid open and Reggie cautiously stepped inside. It seemed even Reggie was concerned about running into one of those creatures.

  Reggie saw nothing and gestured for Nick and Max to follow. Just before they entered, Max remembered to give the stun gun back to Nick. Nick nodded in appreciation. He quickly checked the ammunition counter on the top face of the gun; there were only a couple of shots remaining.

  As the three of them entered, Reggie commanded the
lights to full brightness. The hold was largely empty with only a couple of places to hide. In the far right of the hold, a few crates of spare parts were stacked about three meters high and in the back left was a relatively small closet used for storing tools and more spare parts. Those were the only two possible hiding spaces.

  It occurred to Nick that he would be surprised to find one of these creatures hiding. They didn’t seem to have that cunning nor did they seem to have any sense of fear. Still, Nick didn’t dare relax. After what they had just been through, he allowed that anything could happen.

  The spare part crates were fastened to the far right wall of the hold. There was a small gap in the between the crates; it took only a quick check to see that there was no one hiding there. Nick breathed a sigh of relief that there was nothing there, but looked in apprehension towards the storage closet.

  The closet door was open; the darkness inside it was unsettling.

  “No light in there?” Nick asked.

  “Remind me to fix that later,” Max said.

  The trio walked up to the room as quietly as their wounds and wardrobes would allow. Max and Nick flanked the sides of the door and Max gestured for Reggie to go in first.

  Reggie was in there for just a few seconds when he called out, “Captain, I have found our third passenger.”

  Max and Nick stepped in, weapons still drawn, to see Reggie with his flashlight beam focused on the shivering, slight frame of a small girl. Both men let out a sigh of relief and lowered their weapons.

  “Thank God. I don’t think I could’ve handled another round with one of those things,” Max said.

  Nick walked over to the girl and knelt in front of her. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

  The girl, maybe twelve years old, shook her head. As Nick approached, she hugged her knees tighter to her chest. Her face and hair were covered in a spatter of blood. Nick recognized her designer clothes; the girl’s parents had been well off.

  “What’s your name?” Nick asked.

  She didn’t answer.

  “Reggie, how much time until the drone breaks through the encryption?” Max asked.

  “About five minutes.”